1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to computer animation, and more specifically to tools for viewing the effects of lighting in computer animation.
2. Description of Related Art
The creation of a computer animation title involves many processes. To begin with, a computer-generated character (or other computer animation asset) is typically defined through a “rigging” process, during which a skeleton structure for the character is configured, followed by a “skinning” process, during which external features—skin, clothes, hair, for example—are given to the character. In addition, in a process called “surfacing,” visible surfaces of the character are assigned synthesized materials so that the surfaces will appear with desired material properties in subsequent renderings of those surfaces. The defined character may then be placed with other computer animation assets (hereafter “animation assets”) into a scene to play out a story line. Through an “animation” process, the various animation assets become configured to move about and/or interact with one another.
Thereafter, artists known as “lighters” configure the lighting parameters of various scenes so that the frames of computer animation that are to be rendered will appear realistic and visually pleasing to viewers. The configurable parameters of a light source may include placement, direction, intensity, and/or color of the light source. In addition, lighters may adjust the material properties of an animation asset in order to change its light reflection/transmission properties. After this “lighting” process, “rendering” takes place, during which shots of a scene are taken and frames of computer animation are produced.
As used here, the term “shot” refers to an interval during which a scene is captured by a virtual camera. An individual shot is typically defined by a transition, such as a cut or fade, at the beginning and end of the shot. The term “frame” refers to a still image. A shot can be rendered into any number of individual frames. A computer animation title is essentially made up of a series of frames that are rendered from different shots and edited together. The frames, when viewed in rapid succession (e.g., above 10 frames per second), give viewers the perception of animation. When frames of computer animation have been rendered, artists review the rendered frames for quality and effect. The artists can implement changes in the inputs to any one of the upstream computer animation processes described above in order to finesse a computer-animated title.